Word guessing game having letters associated with grid positions

ABSTRACT

In a word guessing game, letters are grouped into words and the letters are associated with game positions. A player selects game positions and, if a letter is located at a selected game position, the letter is revealed to the player. The player may then attempt to guess the word which the letter is a part of. In a multi-player game, the player who determines all of the other player&#39;s words first is declared the winner. In a single player game, the player may be declared a winner if they determine all of the words within a period of time or number of position selections or guesses.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/924,855, filed on Jan. 8, 2014.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods of playing and presenting gamesand gaming devices and systems for presenting games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Game players continue to seek new and exciting games to play. A new andexciting game is desired, particularly one which can be played by asingle player or in a multi-player format and as a wagering ornon-wagering game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention comprise methods of presenting games,methods of playing games, and game boards, gaming devices and gamingsystems for presenting games.

In one embodiment of a game, a plurality of game positions is provided.Game indicia are associated with one or more of the game positions, thegame indicia formed into groups. A player makes a selection of a gameposition and if a game indicium is associated with the position, thegame indicium is revealed to the player. At one or more times the playerattempts to guess the groups of game indicia.

In one embodiment, the game indicia comprise alphabetical letters andthose letters are formed into groups comprising words. In oneembodiment, multiple words are associated with game positions comprisingletter positions and the words are interlinked. A player selects aletter position and if a letter is associated with that position, theletter is revealed to the player. The player uses information regardingrevealed letters and their positions to attempt to guess the words.

The game may be played as a single player game or a multi-player game,such as a two player game. The game play be played via an electronicgaming device, such as a gaming machine, via one or more game boardssuch as one or more printed game boards with associated letter or gametiles, electronic game boards or the like. The game may also be playedvia a system of linked electronic devices.

The game may include various features, such as word filters, scoringfeatures and the like. The game may be played as a wager-based game. Inone embodiment, winnings may be awarded to winning players.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention overthe prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of thedrawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-48 illustrate one example embodiment of a sequence of play of agame of the invention;

FIG. 49 illustrates one embodiment of a game board of the invention; and

FIG. 50 illustrates one embodiment of a gaming device of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough description of the present invention.It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known features have not been described in detailso as not to obscure the invention.

Embodiments of the invention comprise methods of playing and presentinggames. One aspect of the invention is a word guessing game. The gameutilizes a number of game positions. An indicium is associated with oneor more, but preferably not all, of the positions. In a preferredembodiment, the indicia used in the game comprise alphabetical lettersand the letters are grouped to form one or more words. A player attemptsto determine the location of game positions having an associatedindicium and, in the preferred embodiment, the words which are formed bythe letters.

In one embodiment, the game positions are arranged into a grid, such asa grid of rows and columns of positions. Such a grid may have the samenumber of positions per row and column, such as 2×2, 7×7, 10×10, etc.,or have different numbers of positions per row and column, such as 4×6,6×4, etc. The positions may also be arranged into other patterns, such apyramid, or the arrangement of positions may be irregular.

Preferably, each position is identifiable, such as by coordinates oranother identifier. For example, each row of positions may be identifiedby a letter and each column of positions may be identified by a number.Thus, a first row of positions might be identified by identifiers suchas A-1, A-2, A-3, etc., a second row of positions might be identified byidentifiers such as B-1, B-2, B-3, etc., and so on. Of course, otherposition identifiers might be utilized.

As indicated, indicia are associated with various positions. In apreferred embodiment, the indicia comprise letters and those letters arepreferably grouped to form words. In a preferred embodiment, game playinvolves selection by a player of game or letter positions. If anindicium is associated with a game position, it is revealed to theplayer. In general, the object of the game is for the player todetermine the words formed by the indicia. In a single player game theplayer may only be given a period of time or limited number of positionselections in order to determine the words. In a multi-player game theplayer who is the first to determine all of the other player's words maybe declared the winner.

Aspects of the invention will be appreciated from an example of oneembodiment of the game which is illustrated in FIGS. 1-48 attachedhereto. This example embodiment implements various aspects of theinvention. As described herein, however, the game may be implemented inother manners and have other configurations and features other than thatshown in this example.

FIG. 1-48 illustrate a multi-player version of the game. As illustratedin FIG. 1, a Player 1 is assigned a game board 100 and a Player 2 isassigned a game board 200. In this example, each game board comprises agrid of 7×7 game positions.

Indicia are associated with a number of positions of each game board100,200. Indicia could be associated with all of the positions of a gameboard, but in other embodiments, indicia are associated with some, butnot all of the positions.

In a preferred embodiment, the indicia are letters and the indicia arearranged into words. Each player's game board may be pre-filled orarranged, or the player may be required to complete their own game boardby placing or locating the indicia (and thus form words from thoseindicia).

In one embodiment, the players might select a setup card whichdesignates a set of indicia to be used in the game (such as the lettersA, A, B, C, D, E, E, G, H, I, I, K, M, N, O, P, R, S, S, T, and U). Inthis embodiment of the game, each player uses the same set of indicia inthe game. In a game board version of the game, each player might thenselect tiles bearing those letters from a set of provided tiles. Eachplayer might then use those tiles to populate their game board (byforming words using those tiles). In another embodiment, each playermight be given a different setup card or they might select differentindicia (such as by each randomly selecting 21 tiles from a group oftiles, etc.) to use to create their game board.

Of course, in electronic versions of the game, each player might use anelectronic display to form their game board (for example, in anelectronic version a game board of game positions might be displayedalong with electronic representations of tiles and the player might drag(such as by touching the screen with their finger) game indicia (such asin the form of graphically represented tiles) to particular gamepositions to form their game board).

As illustrated in FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the game, eachplayer of the game is made aware of the indicia 300 which are used informing the other player's game board, but not the locations of thoseindicia or the words which are formed using those indicia. The playermay also have a number of hit tokens 170.

In one embodiment, each player takes a turn by selecting a game positioncorresponding to the other player's game board. For example, asillustrated in FIGS. 3-4, Player 1 selects the position identified asC-4 of Player 2's game board 200. If Player 2's game board 200 does nothave an indicium at that position, Player 2 might call a “miss” andPlayer 1's turn ends. If so, Player 2 may call a “hit” and thenpreferably indentifies the indicium (in this case, the letter “I”).

Most preferably, Player 2 also identifies the size of the word which theletter is associated with, such as a “four-letter word” in this example.If the letter is associated with two different words, the playerpreferably identifies such and the number of letters in each of thosewords.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, each player may be provided with a gametracker board 150 in addition to their own game board 100. Each playermay use their game tracker board 150 to track the positions they haveguessed and indicia 300 which have been revealed relative to the otherplayer's game board 200 (as well as other information, such as the sizeof words which the letters are associated with). The game tracker board150 may include a letter tracker 160 which includes a list of theletters or other indicia 300 which were assigned or selected by theother player to play the game (e.g. a player knows which letters orother indicia 300 which were assigned or selected by the other player,but does not know which of those indicia the other player used to formwords with or the location/combinations of the words).

As illustrated in FIG. 5, if a player selects a position having anassociated indicium, the player may also then attempt to guess the wordwhich the letter is associated with. If the player correctly guesses theword, the other player so indicates. In other embodiments of theinvention, a player might guess one or more words even if they do notselect a position with an associated indicium, might be required toforfeit a selection of an indicium if they wish to make a word guess, ormight be limited to certain other times or events in order to guess oneor more words.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, when another player selects a position whichreveals an indicium on a player's game board 100, the player may markthe designated position on their game board 100 which was selected bythe other player. For example, a player may use a marker to mark aposition on their game board 100 which was selected by another player.The player might also cross the letter off of their letter tracker 160,thus helping the player identify the remaining letters which may be usedin combination with the revealed letter in potential word combinations).

As illustrated in the example, play continues with the players takingturns guessing positions and, if a selected position reveals a letter,guessing the words associated with those letters. The winner of the gameis the player who is the first to correctly identify all of the words onthe other player's game board.

The game of the invention may have other features and configurations.

In one embodiment, the indicia must be arranged so that they areinterlocking (e.g. are linked by one or more commonly shared letters orindicia). For example, if the indicia comprise letters, the letters apreferably arranged to form interlocking or connected words. However, inother embodiments, the indicia (such as formed words) may be located inany game positions (and thus be connected or not be connected).

While the game is preferably played using indicia comprising letterswhich are grouped to form words, the game could be played using otherindicia (numbers, symbols, letters, icon, or combinations thereof,etc.). As one example, the game could be played using numbers andmathematical operators. The players might then guess the math formulas(such as 2×6+12/2=12).

As indicated herein, the game can be played in multi-player format, suchas player vs. player. The game could be played with more than twoplayers. As one example, teams of players might play against one another(such as where each team has a game board). The game can also be playedin a single player format, such as against a computer or the house. Insuch an example, a game board with associated indicia may be formed bythe computer. The player may be given a period of time or a certainnumber of position guesses in order to reveal/determine all of the wordson the game board. If the player does so, the player may be declared tobe a winner of the game. Otherwise, the outcome of the game may be alosing outcome.

In a multi-player game, the game may proceed in rounds where each playerselects a position (and in an indicium is revealed, be given theopportunity to guess the word(s)) in alternating fashion (player 1 makesa selection, then player 2, etc.). However, the game can be played inother variations. For example, if a player makes a position selectionand correctly guesses a word, that player may be given anotheropportunity to select another position and/or another word before thenext player is given an opportunity play. In other embodiments, playersmay only be permitted to guess words at certain other times or basedupon other criteria. In one embodiment, player's may be given “hints”(particularly in electronic implementations of the game) if the playeris having difficulty guessing a word. A player might be penalized forseeking a hint by losing a turn at guessing a word, by losing points orthe like.

The game may be played as an entertainment game or a wagering game. In awagering game format the player may be required to place a wager. Theplayer may then be awarded winnings for a winning outcome. Of course,various configurations of awards may be provided. For example, winningsmay be higher if the event the player achieves a winning outcome in ashorter period of time or a fewer number of guesses (for example: $100payout for a winning result achieved in less than 25 position guesses;$250 payout for a winning result achieved in less than 20 positionguesses, etc.). The game may also be played as a wagering game inmulti-player format. In that event, the winning player might be paid afixed amount or an amount from a wagering pools (for example, bothplayers might wager $100 and the winning player might then be returnedtheir $100 wager and win the other player's $100 wager).

In a preferred embodiment, when a player correctly guesses a word andone or more letters of that word are associated with other words, theplayer is not informed whether the letters in the correctly guessed wordare part of any other words. For example, referring to FIG. 1, if Player1 correctly guesses the word “COWS” upon selecting position E-6 andbeing told that it contains the letter W, Player 1 would not be toldthat the “C”, “O” or “S” in that word are also associated with otherwords. Of course, in other embodiments, this information could berevealed to the player.

The game could be played by having a category/theme and words for thatgame will need to fall under that category/theme. For example, in onegame the category might be “Winter”, such that only “Winter”-themedwords could be used in the game (i.e. the game board would bepre-populated or be populated by the player with words such as “gloves”,“snow”, “ice”, etc.)

The game could have a category that will have all requires all of thewords to form a certain phrase (e.g. Fortune, Favors, The, Bold; You,Are, What, You, Eat; etc.)

The game could have a category that will have various combinations ofcommon slot machine symbols placed on the grid (e.g. Cherry, Cherry,Cherry; Bell, Bar, Cherry; etc.)

In one embodiment, the game is played with a certain number of indicia,such as letters. For example, when using a 7×7 grid defining 49positions, the game might be played using 21 letters. However, othernumbers of letters (or other indicia) might be used. Further, a playermay not be required to use all of their letters. For example, one playermay find that they can only form linking words using 18 of the 21letters and another player might be able to use all of their 21 letters.In one embodiment, the set of letters (or other indicia) used to playthe game may only be used once (e.g. the letters “I, A, K, L, S”).However, when larger numbers of letters or indicia are used, the lettersmay be used more than one time (e.g. the letters “A, A, S, E, E, E, L,F, etc.”)

In one embodiment, each letter or indicium may be assigned points, suchthat each word has a point value comprising the aggregate of the pointsof the letters forming the word. In one embodiment, when a playerselects a position having an associated letter, that player may beinformed of the point value of the word that the letter is associatedwith. For example, referring to FIG. 1, if Player 1 selects the positionB-1, Player 2 may reveal that the position contains the letter “A” andthat it is part of a 2-letter word having a point value of 4. Asdetailed below, points assigned to the indicia or the combinationsthereof (such as words) may be used to score the game.

In one embodiment, the game of the invention may be presented viaphysical game apparatus. FIG. 49 illustrates one example of a gameapparatus. As illustrated, a game apparatus might define a first orhorizontal portion which includes a first board. The first board mightcomprise the player's game board 400 which defines the set of gamepositions for the first player. The game apparatus may also define asecond or vertical portion which includes a second board, such asdefining game positions corresponding to the opposing player's gameboard 500. The game apparatus might also define a token and/or tilestorage area 600 and an indicia tracker area 700, among other features.Of course, game apparatus might be made of various materials such asplastic, wood, cardboard or the like. The indicia might be associatedwith tiles or other elements, such as plastic or wood tiles which can bepositioned on the game boards. In this embodiment, each player usestheir own game apparatus. In another embodiment, the game apparatusmight comprise a single unit having opposing sides or stations for useby the opposing players. Of course, the gaming apparatus might haveother configurations, such as other arrangements or layouts for theelements thereof.

The game might also be played using printed sheets or boards (which maybe generally planar, folding, etc.). Sets of game sheets might beprovided, one for each player, such as for play of the game on anairplane or the like.

In another embodiment, the game apparatus might be at least partiallyelectronic, such as comprising electronic displays which are capable ofdisplaying an indicium in each position. For example, relative to thegame apparatus illustrated in FIG. 49, instead of the apparatus havingprinted game boards and indicia tracking areas, the game apparatus mighthave one or more electronic displays (such as a horizontal display and avertical display) which are capable of displaying game information.

As indicated above, the game may be played as a wagering game. In such aconfiguration, the game may be implemented via a gaming machine ordevice. Such a gaming machine may have various configurations.

The gaming machine may be located at a casino (and as such may bereferred to as a “casino gaming machine”). As described below, thegaming machine may be part of a gaming system, such as a casino gamingsystem which links two or more of the gaming machines or one or moregaming machines with other devices, such as one or more table games,kiosks, accounting systems or servers, progressive systems or servers,player tracking systems or servers or the like.

One configuration of a gaming machine 22 is illustrated in FIG. 50. Asillustrated, the gaming machine 22 generally comprises a housing orcabinet 26 for supporting and/or enclosing various components requiredfor operation of the gaming machine. In the embodiment illustrated, thehousing 26 includes a door located at a front thereof, the door capableof being moved between an open position which allows access to theinterior, and a closed position in which access to the interior isgenerally prevented. The configuration of the gaming machine 22 mayvary. In the embodiment illustrated, the gaming machine 22 has an“upright” configuration. However, the gaming machine 22 could have otherconfigurations, shapes or dimensions (such as being of a “slant”-type,“bar-top” or other configuration as is well known to those of skill inthe art).

The gaming machine 22 preferably includes at least one display device 28configured to display game information. The display device 28 maycomprise an electronic video display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT),high resolution flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD), projection LCD,plasma display, field emission display, digital micro-mirror display(DMD), digital light processing display (DLP), LCD touchscreen, a lightemitting display (LED) or other suitable displays now known or laterdeveloped, in a variety of resolutions, sizes and formats (e.g. 4:3,widescreen or the like). The display 28 may be capable of projecting ordisplaying a wide variety of information, including images, symbols andother indicia or information associated with game play, game promotionor other events. The gaming machine 22 might include more than onedisplay device 28, such as two or more displays 28 which are associatedwith the housing 26. The gaming machine 22 might also include a top boxor other portion. Such a top box might include one or more displaydevices 28, such as in addition to one or more main displays which areassociated with the housing 26. Also, the gaming machine 22 mightinclude side displays (such as mounted to the exterior of the housing26) and might include multiple displays of differing sizes.

As described in more detail below, the gaming machine 22 is preferablyconfigured to present one or more games upon a player making a monetarypayment or wager. In this regard, as described in more detail below, thegaming machine 22 includes means for accepting monetary value.

In one embodiment, as detailed above, certain game outcomes may bedesignated as winning outcomes. Prizes or awards may be provided forwinning outcomes, such as monetary payments (or representations thereof,such as prize of credits), or promotional awards as detailed herein. Asdetailed below, the gaming machine 22 includes means for returningunused monetary funds and/or dispensing winnings to a player.

The gaming machine 22 preferably includes one or more player inputdevices 30 (such as input buttons, plunger mechanisms, a touch-screendisplay, joystick, touch-pad or the like). These one or more devices 30may be utilized by the player to facilitate game play, such as byproviding input or instruction to the gaming machine 22. For example,such input devices 30 may be utilized by a player to place a wager,cause the gaming machine 22 to initiate a game, to indicate cards to beheld or discarded, to “cash out” of the gaming machine, or to providevarious other inputs.

In one preferred embodiment, the gaming machine 22 includes at least onemicroprocessor or controller for controlling the gaming machine,including receiving player input and sending output signals forcontrolling the various components of the machine 22 (such as generatinggame information for display by the display 28). The controller may bearranged to receive information regarding funds provided by a player tothe gaming machine, receive input such as a purchase/bet signal when apurchase/bet button is depressed, and receive other inputs from aplayer. The controller may be arranged to generate information regardinga game, such as generating game information for display by the at leastone display 28 (such as information representing a game board of gamepositions (and indicia at those positions), for determining winning orlosing game outcomes and for displaying information regarding awards forwinning game outcomes, among other things.

The controller may be configured to execute machine readable code or“software” or otherwise process information, such as obtained from aremote server. Software or other instructions may be stored on a memoryor data storage device. The memory may also store other information,such as pay table information. The gaming machine 22 may also includeone or more random number generators for generating random numbers, suchas for use in selecting cards and for presenting the game in a randomfashion.

Preferably, the controller is configured to execute machine readablecode or instructions which are configured to implement the method ofgame play of the invention. For example, the controller of the gamingmachine 22 may be configured to detect a wager, such as a signal from aplayer's depressing of the “bet one” button. Upon such an event and/orthe player otherwise signaling the gaming machine to present the game,the controller may be configured to cause a blank game board to bedisplayed on the at least one display 28. The controller may acceptinput from a player of a particular location (such as touch input of oneof the positions).

The gaming machine 22 may be configured to generate and present games ina stand-alone manner or it may be in communication with one or moreexternal devices at one or more times. For example, the gaming machine22 may be configured as a server based device and obtain game code orgame outcome information from a remote game server (in which event thegaming machine controller may receive game information from the server,such as game outcome information, and use that server-generatedinformation to present the game at the gaming machine).

As indicated, the gaming machine 22 is configured to present one or morewagering games. Thus, the gaming machines 22 is preferably configured toaccept value, such as in the form of coins, tokens, paper currency orother elements or devices representing value such as monetary funds. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 50, the gaming machine 22 might includea coin acceptor 32 for accepting coins. Of course, associated coinreading/verifying devices and coin storage devices may be associatedwith the gaming machine 22 if it is configured to accept coins.Likewise, the gaming machine 22 might include a media reader 34. Such areader may be configured to accept and read/verify paper currency and/orother media such as tickets. Of course, in such event the gaming machine22 may further be configured with one or more paper currency or ticketstorage devices, such as cash boxes, and other paper currency or mediahandling devices (including transport devices).

The gaming machine 22 might also be configured to read FOBs, magneticstripe cards or other media having data associated therewith and viawhich value or funds may be associated with the gaming machine 22.

In one embodiment, the gaming machine 22 is configured to award winningsfor one or more winning wagering game outcomes. Such winnings may berepresented as credits, points or the like. In one embodiment, theplayer may “cash out” and thus remove previously associated funds andany awarded winnings or such may otherwise be paid to the player. Forexample, upon an award or at cash-out, associated funds may be paid tothe player by the gaming machine 22 dispensing coins to a coin tray 40.In another embodiment, funds may be issued by dispensing paper currency.In yet another embodiment, a player may be issued a media, such as aprinted ticket, which ticket represents the value which was paid orcashed out of the machine. The aspects of gaming machine “ticketing”systems are well known. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No.6,048,269 to Burns, which is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

The gaming machine 22 may also include a player tracking device, such asa card reader 66 and associated keypad 70. Such player tracking devicesare well known and may permit the game operator to track play of playersof the gaming machine. The tracked play may be utilized to offer playerbonuses or awards.

It will be appreciated that the gaming machine illustrated in FIG. 50 isonly exemplary of one embodiment of a gaming machine. For example, it ispossible to for the gaming machine to have various other configurations,including different shapes and styles and having different componentsthan as just described.

For example, it is possible for the game of the invention to bepresented on a computing device, including at a home or office computer,a game console (such as Microsoft's X-BOX™ Nintendo Company's Wii™ orSony Corporation's PLAYSTATION™, among others) or a player's mobileelectronic device such as a PDA, tablet, phone or the like. The gamemight be presented as an Internet or server based game, or via adownloaded or installed game application.

For example, in one embodiment, a player might log in to a casino serverand the controller of the casino server may cause game information to bedelivered to the player's computer via a communication link and then bedisplayed on a display of the player's computer. The communication linkmight comprise or include the Internet, a casino network such as a wiredor wireless LAN, or combinations of public and/or private networksincluding wired and/or wireless links. In such a configuration it willbe noted that the term “controller” may comprise more than one device.For example, in a server-based environment, a controller at a server maygenerate game information and transmit that information to a localcontroller at a gaming machine or a player's computer or otherelectronic device. The local controller at the gaming machine or theplayer's computer or other electronic device may then cause gameinformation to be displayed on one or more associated displays. Thegames of the invention could also be presented by or at hand-helddevices, such as PDAs, cellular phones, tablet computing devices or thelike.

As one example, the game server may utilize one or more letters togenerate words associated with game positions or utilize apre-configured template of words. The game server may cause the gamingmachine or the player's electronic device to display the game board, toreceive input regarding a player's selection of letters (or otherindicia), guesses of words, determine if the player's guesses arecorrect, determine if the player won the game, etc., by communicatingwith the player's electronic device.

A casino may have numerous such gaming machines 22, such as located on acasino floor or in other locations. Of course, such gaming machines 22might be used in other environments, such as an airport, a bar or tavernor other locations.

Relative to player personal electronic devices such as phones, PDA's,tablets, laptops and the like, the game of the invention may bepresented via game software (i.e. machine-readable or executable codewhich is executed by a processor of the device) on the device, orexecuted at a remote device where the remote device then causes theplayer's device to present game information. In multi-player embodimentsof the game, personal electronic devices or two or more players may beconfigured to communicate with one another. For example, a tablet of oneplayer may be linked to a table of another player via a communicationlink, such as a wireless communication link. In this manner, the twoplayers may play one another using their devices. In such aconfiguration, the personal electronic devices may be configured toexchange game information over the communication link.

In another embodiment, players may connect their electronic devices to agame server whereby a first communication link is formed between a firstplayer's electronic device and the game server and a secondcommunication link is formed between a second player's electronic deviceand the game server. In this configuration, the game server may“intermediate” the game, receiving selections of game indicia from eachplayer and providing updates, etc. to the players as the gameprogresses, tracking and controlling the play.

The one or more game servers may comprise computing devices, such ashaving one or more controllers which execute computer readable code or“software”, which include data storage or “memory” devices, whichinclude user input or control devices or the like, as is well known inthe art. As indicated above, the one or more game servers may permitplay of single player games or multi-player games, including multipleinstances of such games to the same or a plurality of players at thesame time.

Of course, the invention may include many other features. For example,games of the invention may be scored. Scoring may be based upon variouscriteria, such as letter or word values, the speed with which a playersolves the words, head to head match up winners, etc. The game scoresmay be assigned to players. Leaderboards may be posed or a player maycompare their score(s) with those of other players. Winnings might beawarded for one or more players with the highest scores during certainperiods of time or the like (such as in “tournament” format, etc.).

In one embodiment, the game may include a word filter or other gamecontrol features. For example, in the case of an electronic version ofthe game, a player may provide input of letters to the device relativeto the formation of their words. The game device, game server or thecontroller might flag or filter combinations of letters which do notform words, form unacceptable or inappropriate words, foreign words,etc., or might ensure that words fit a particular game theme.

To further aid in understanding, one example of game play shown in FIGS.1-48 will be explained. In FIG. 1, game boards 100, 200 of players 1 and2 are shown initially. Player 1's initial game tracker board 160 isshown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, play proceeds in the mode of a“battleship” style game with each player calling a specific square andlearning what letter, if any, is there.

In FIG. 4, player 1 goes first, and calls C-4. Player 2 reveals thatthere is an “I” there and that it is part of a four-letter word. Player1 enters this in her/her tracker board 150 and crosses off an “I” fromthe letter tracker 160. In FIG. 5, player 1 may take one shot at“sinking” the word by guessing it. Because of the letters in the lettertracker 160, Player 1 knows all the letters in play and uses that inguessing. In FIG. 6, knowing that there is an “M,” an “S,” and a “T”somewhere on Player 2's board 200, Player 1 guesses “Mist.” However,that is not the word and it is now Player 2's turn.

In FIG. 7, Player 2 also asks for C-4 and learns that there is an “N”there which is part of a four-letter word. Using similar logic to Player1, Player 2 guesses “Nabs.” Player 1 covers the “N” at C-4 with a hittoken 170.

In FIG. 8, on the next turn, Player 1 asks for C-E and learns that it isan “R” and that it is also part of a four-letter word. Player 1 marksthis on the tracker board 150 and crosses off an “R” from the lettertracker. In FIG. 9, Player 1 guesses “Rims” and is told that is alsoincorrect.

In FIG. 10, not knowing if the word is going up-and-down orleft-to-right, Player 2 asks for C-5 and gets a miss. Player 1 may markthat Player 2 choose C-5 on Player 1's board 100 with a hit token 170.

On the next turn in FIG. 11, Player 1 asks for C-5 and Player 2 revealsthat it is an “S” and it is part of two four-letter words. Player 1marks the tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160 appropriately asshown. In FIG. 12, Player 1 knows that there are no “E”s or “K”s in playand that the word therefore cannot be “Rise” or “Risk.” Player 1 isstumped, and makes no guess on this turn.

In FIG. 13, Player 2 now asks for B-4, learns that it is an “S,” andthat it is part of both a four and a five-letter word. Player 1 marksB-4 on the game board 100 with a hit token 170. Player 2 guess the word“Snit” and is told that is incorrect.

Player 1 now asks for C-6 in FIG. 14 and gets his/her first miss.Realizing now that the missing letter of the four-letter word is thefirst letter, Player 1 guess “Iris” and sinks the word. Player 1 marksthe tracker board 160 to record the miss and crosses out another “I”from the letter tracker as shown in FIG. 15. It is important to notethat while Player 1 knows that there is an “I” in C-2, it is notrevealed whether it is connected to any other words.

In FIG. 16, player 2 asks for D-4, learns it is an “O” and guesses“Snob,” another miss. Player 1 marks the hit on the game board 100 witha hit token 170.

Player 1 then builds on the “S” in Iris and asks for D-4. Player 1 istold it is a “T” that is part of a four-letter word. Player 1 guesses“Mast,” which is incorrect. Player 1 updates the tracker board 150 andletter tracker 160 documenting the hit.

In FIG. 18, player 2 requests E-4, getting the “W” and sinking the word“Snow.” Player 2 also learns that the “W” is also part of a three-letterword. Player 1, using a hit token 170, marks this on the game board 100.

Player 1 then calls B-5 in FIG. 19 and receives another miss. Player 1guesses “Star,” but is incorrect. Player 1 marks the miss on the trackerboard 150.

Working outward from the “S” in Snow, Player 2 decides to choose B-3,learning that it is an “I” and part of a five-letter word in FIG. 20.Player 2 is stumped and makes no guess. Player 1 marks the hit with ahit token 170 on the game board 100.

In FIG. 21, player 1 calls E-5 and hits an “O” that is part of twofour-letter words. Player 1 successfully guesses “Stow.” Player 1 marksthe information on the tracker board 150 and tracks the used letters onthe letter tracker 160.

Player 2 requests B-2 in the next turn in FIG. 22, finds out that it is“W,” and correctly guesses “Twist.” Player 1 records this on the gameboard 100 with a hit token 170.

Player 1 asks for E-6 in FIG. 23. It is a “W” part of a singlefour-letter word. A guess of “Brow” results in a miss. Player 1 updatesthe tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160.

In FIG. 24. Player 2 calls D-3 and is informed it is a “C” that is partof two four-letter words. Player 2 incorrectly guesses “Cobs.” Player 1marks player 2's hit on game board 100 with a hit token 170.

Player 1 next gets a “C” by choosing E-4, part of a four- andthree-letter word. Player 1 then guess “Cows” and sinks the word. Player1 marks the tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160 accordingly.

Player 2 next asks for E-3 in FIG. 26, and learns that is an “A” that isconnected to a three-letter word as well as a four-letter word. Player 2correctly guesses and sinks the word “Saw.” Player 1 marks this on thegame board 100 with a token 170.

In FIG. 27, player 1 calls F-4 and gets an “A” that is connected to athree- and five-letter word. Player 1 guesses “Car” which is incorrect.Player 1 updates the tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160.

Player 2 asks for D-5 and gets an “M” that is connected to a four-letterword in FIG. 28. A guess of “comb” results in a sink. Player 1 updatesthis on the game board 100 with a token 170.

Player 1 gets a “B” at G-4 and finally sinks “Cab” as shown in FIG. 29.Player 1 marks this on the tracker board 150 and player tracker 160.

Player 2 asks for F-3 and gets an “R” in FIG. 30. The guess of “Cars”turns out to be incorrect. Player 1 marks the hit on the board 100 witha token 170.

In FIG. 31, Player 1 requests F-3 and receives an “R.” Knowing thatthere can't be a letter at F-6, Player 1 decides that the word must be“Straw and is correct.” Player 1 marks these letters on the trackerboard 150 and letter tracker 160.

In FIG. 32, player 2 receives a “B” at G-3, finishing the word “Carb.”Player 2 also learn that the “B” is a part of a three- and four-letterword. Player 1 marks the hit with a token 170 on the game board 100.

In FIG. 33, Player 2 is fairly confident that the answer is “Bar,” butis surprised to learn that G-4 is a miss. Player 1 marks the miss on thegame board 100 with a token 170.

By having sunk several words without actually hitting the letters,Player 1 is now in the position of not knowing where exactly Player 2'sother letters connect on the board, as shown in FIG. 34. In FIG. 35,figuring that the “S” in cows is probably shared with another word,Player 1 takes F-7 and racks up another miss. Player 1 takes a blindguess with “As” and is incorrect. Player 1 marks the miss on the trackerboard 150.

Next, Player 2 calls a G-2 in FIG. 36, gets an “I” and sinks “Rib.”Player 1 marks the player board 100 with a token 170 accordingly.

Player 1 calls D-4 in FIG. 37 and gets an “N” that is part of afour-letter word. Player 1 guesses “Bans,” but is incorrect. Player 1tracks the “N” on the tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160.

Player 2 is now in the same position Player 1 was in two turns ago. InFIG. 38, with four letters left to sink, there is no concrete point tobuild from. Player 2 chooses C-6, another miss, which player 1 markswith a token 170 on the game board 100.

In FIG. 39, by the process of elimination, Player 1 figures that C-7 isprobably an “I” and calls B-7 instead of C-7 in case more than one wordintersect there. As shown in FIG. 40, in this case, the “B” turned outto be part of just one word, so Player 1 sinks “Bins.” Player 1 marksthis on the tracker board 150 and letter tracker 160.

Unwilling to give up on the “B,” player 2 takes a shot at E-6 in FIG.41, receiving yet another miss. Player 1 marks the miss with a token 170on the game board 100.

In FIG. 42, Player 1 knows that there are only three letters left: “A,”“M,” and “X.” Player 1 is pretty sure “Mix” is one of the two words,leaving “Am,” “Ax,” or “As” as the final possibilities. With player 2having the potential to win the game in two turns, Player 1 calls D-2 inFIG. 43, hoping to learn the location of all the remaining letters withone shot. As shown in FIG. 44, it is an “X,” as expected, and Player 1sinks “Mix.” However, the “X” doesn't connect to anything else, leavingplayer 1 shooting blind next turn. Player 1 updates the tracker board150 and letter tracker 160.

Player 2 now figures that the “T” at B-1 could be “It” or “Tax,” butdoes not know whether to aim high or low, and another miss willundoubtedly cost the game, as shown in FIG. 45. On the other hand, A-5is probably either “Ax” or “Is” and is a guaranteed sink, so Player 2calls A-5 in FIG. 46, gets an “I,” and sinks “Is.” Player 1 marks thison the game board 100 with a token 170.

The game now rests on Player 1's call. There is only the “A” left tofind, but Player 2 will surely win if Player 1 misses, as shown in FIG.47. After some thought, Player 1 chooses B-1. As shown in FIG. 48, B-1is a hit! Player 1 finds the final letter and sinks “Am.” Player 1 haswon the game by finding all of Player 2's words before Player 2 foundall of Player 1's.

It will be understood that the above described arrangements of apparatusand the method there from are merely illustrative of applications of theprinciples of this invention and many other embodiments andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of playing a game via an electronicgaming device having at least one video display, a controller and one ormore user input devices, said controller configured to: a) cause saidvideo display to display a plurality of letter positions; b) associatealphabetical letters with one or more of said letter positions, saidplurality of letters grouped into combinations forming words; c) receivea selection of a designated letter position from a player via one ofsaid user input devices; d) if said designated letter position has anassociated letter, reveal the letter to the player by said at least onevideo display; e) after revealing the letter to the player, receive aguess from said player of the word the player believes said letter isassociated with; and f) determine if said player has correctly guessedsaid word.
 2. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprisingthe step of repeating steps c)-e) at least one time if said player hasnot correctly guessed all of said words.
 3. The method in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said electronic gaming device includes a wageraccepting device and including the step of accepting a wager from saidplayer to play said game and, if said player is correctly guesses all ofsaid words, declaring said player a winner of said game and awardingwinnings to said player.
 4. A method of playing a two-player word gameusing at least one game board which defines a first set of letterpositions, a second set of letter positions and elements bearingletters, comprising: a first player associating a first set ofalphabetical letters with one or more of said first set of letterpositions, said first set of letters grouped into combinations formingone or more words; a second player associating a second set ofalphabetical letters with one or more of said second set of letterpositions, said second set of letters grouped into combinations formingone or more words; said first player selecting one or more letterpositions of said second set of letter positions and, if said letterpositions contain a letter, revealing said letter; said second playerselecting one or more letter positions of said first set of letterpositions and, if said letter positions contain a letter, revealing saidletter; at one or more times, receiving a guess from one of said playersof a word or words said player believes are associated with the otherplayer's set of letter positions; and declaring a winner of said game tobe the player who first correctly guesses the words associated with theother players set of letter positions.
 5. The method in accordance withclaim 4, comprising a first game board bearing said first set of letterpositions and a second game board bearing said second set of letterpositions.
 6. The method in accordance with claim 5 wherein saidelements bearing letters comprise physical tiles.
 7. The method inaccordance with claim 4 wherein said first set of letter positions areidentified by coordinates and said second set of letter positions areidentified by coordinates.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 4wherein said first and second sets of letter positions comprise a matrixof 7×7 letter positions.
 9. The method in accordance with claim 4wherein said at least one game board further comprises a first set ofguessed letter positions for use by said first player in denotingselected letter positions of said second set of letter positions and asecond set of guessed letter positions for use by said second player indenoting selected letter positions of said first set of letterpositions.
 10. The method in accordance with claim 4 wherein said one ormore words are associated with a theme, subject or topic.
 11. The methodin accordance with claim 4 wherein said one or more words comprisemultiple words which are connected by commonly shared letters.
 12. Asystem for presenting a two-player game comprising: at least one gameserver; a first communication link between said game server and a gamepresentation device of a first player; a second communication linkbetween said game server and a game presentation device of a secondplayer; said at least one game server configured to: receive input fromsaid first player to their game presentation device of the firstplayer's association of a first set of alphabetical letters with one ormore of a first set of letter positions, said first set of lettersgrouped into combinations forming one or more words; receive input asecond player to their game presentation device of the second player'sassociation of a second set of alphabetical letters with one or more ofsaid second set of letter positions, said second set of letters groupedinto combinations forming one or more words; receive selection by saidfirst player of one or more letter positions of said second set ofletter positions and, if said letter positions contain a letter,revealing said letter; receive selection by said second player of one ormore letter positions of said first set of letter positions and, if saidletter positions contain a letter, revealing said letter; at one or moretimes, receiving a guess from one of said players of a word or wordssaid player believes are associated with the other player's set ofletter positions; and declaring a winner of said game to be the playerwho first correctly guesses the words associated with the other playersset of letter positions.
 13. The system in accordance with claim 12wherein said game presentation devices are selected from the groupcomprising a mobile communication device, a tablet, a laptop computerand a desk-top computer.
 14. The system in accordance with claim 12wherein said at least one game server generates a game score for saidfirst player and said second player.
 15. The system in accordance withclaim 12 wherein said revealing said letter comprises causing said gamepresentation device to display said letter on an electronic displaythereof.
 16. The system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said atleast one game server is further configured to screen said one or morewords.
 17. The system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said at leastone game server is configured to intermediate game play between saidfirst player and said second player.